☕️ Is the Bear Market Over? 🐻 🥳

Bitcoin is up... again... Is crypto about to take off? 🚀

Have we seen the sign?

Is the Bear Market finally over and the great crypto winter thaw approaching? Well, to quote Ace of Base, we saw the sign, it opened up our minds, and we are happy now.

Eh, maybe not “happy,” exactly. But we’re doing okay. Just keep reading and maybe you’ll see the sign too.

Espresso Shots

☕️ Crypto Rebranding 💄 🏦

Rumors floated at the Davos World Economic Forum regarding a total rebrand of the word, “Crypto.”

After FTX, many business leaders felt that “crypto” may now have negative implications that are impossible to shake off.

The overwhelming “bad vibes” has led some players to adopt new nomenclature, choosing new names to refer to crypto.

Some of the pitches include just calling it, “decentralized systems,” or even “blockchain.”

If this becomes the standard, we’ll have to think of a new name for the newsletter. Boba and Blockchain? Donuts and Decentralized Systems? But a rose by any other name is still worth 1 ETH.

☕️ Metaverse Optimism 🌈 💻

Based on a recent CoinWire poll surveying 10,000 investors in the crypto space, 69% of them believed that Metaverse entertainment would reshape social life.

Though, only 65% of those investors actually believed in the Metaverse’s new approach to social activities. A weird, but important distinction.

Also, 9/10 of those investors had heard of Web3, but 52% admitted they didn’t know what it really meant and thought it was just a buzzword that was thrown around.

Microsoft has already secured 158 Metaverse-related patents, but they all seem to be related to land ownership rather than hijacking a Banshee aircraft mid-flight.

Despite the mixed results of the poll, a survey among our own Coffee & Crypto staff found that 100% of our workforce thinks the Metaverse is stupid and lame.

☕️ More Layoffs at Gemini 👥 🪚

Crypto Exchange, Gemini, is being forced to lay off another 10% of its total staff.

The decision comes after Gemini was swept up in an SEC suit with Genesis. The feud between Gemini and Genesis regarding the Genesis Earn program continues.

“Unprecedented fraud perpetuated by bad actors in our industry have left us no other choice but to revise our outlook and further reduce headcount,” wrote Cameron Winkelvoss in an official statement,

As the Winkelvoss twins continue to reduce headcount, we advise Gemini employees to slouch or simply duck during roll call.

Spilling the Beans

Bitcoin's Bull Run 📈 🐂

So, you know we’ve been wanting to talk about the Bitcoin rally this entire newsletter.

You thought we wouldn’t mention it, didn’t you? Hey, I know we take all the crypto proceedings with a comedic dash of cynicism, but we’re not immune to optimism, okay?

That being said, it seems like a lot of voices in the market are not feeling as optimistic about this rally but… we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

This week, Bitcoin hit a four-month high, soaring over $22k for the first time since last September.

Despite Bitcoin recently hitting a high of $22,858, this may not be the opening of the bull market that we’ve all been praying for, instead, many detractors claim, this could be a bull trap.

A bull trap is not, as you may have thought, a red cape with a sword behind it.

A bull trap is an inaccurate signal in the stock market that indicates that a stock is headed upwards, when in fact, it’s about to reverse and decline.

And if you’re not familiar with il Capo of Crypto, you may be familiar with Jim Cramer of Mad Money.

Now, we certainly don’t agree that this is a “sham market” and though Jim Cramer may be the Warren Buffet of day-time finance tv for boomers, he’s far from an objective or reliable source.

Cramer has been a near constant flip flopper on crypto but after the fall of FTX, he has continually urged everyone to sell and abandon the space.

“You can just beat yourself up and say, ‘hey, it’s too late to sell,” Cramer said, “The truth is it’s never too late to sell an awful position, and that’s what you have if you own these so-called digital assets.”

So, this isn’t a guy who’s trying to guide you through the ups and downs of the crypto market, he’s a guy who’s decided to get out of the market altogether.

And yes, we can see how this Bitcoin pump would seem a little suspect in the midst of everything that’s been going on, but there are several factors that could produce this bright spot of crypto sunshine.

Sheraz Ahmed, a managing partner at STORM partners, a “blockchain solutions provider” chalked the rally up to several factors.

The macro data surrounding the Bitcoin rally, “including a modest pullback in inflation, downwards-trending wage and employment data and a seemingly weaker dollar” all contributed to the rise.

But Ahmed warns that investors shouldn’t be overly optimistic, “Post-rally euphoria is always a great feeling but it should be treated with caution to avoid mistakes whether prices continue to rise or fall.”

So, whether Bitcoin is going to shoot the moon or if this is just a bull trap remains to be seen. That said, there’s plenty of reasons to continue acting with caution and taking small profits when you can.

We’re going to hold on to that cautious optimism. We’ve yet to fall victim to a bull trap, but we’ve had plenty of problems with bear traps and beautiful women who are actually cleverly disguised arrangements of ACME dynamite.

Meme of the Day

No, no, you must be confusing me with someone else!

The Last Sip

With crypto undergoing a potential rebrand, we also thought of some new names for our beloved digital currency:

  • Digibucks

  • Social Capital

  • Hogwarts House Points

  • Spice

  • Money

Stay Caffeinated,

Coffee & Crypto Team

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DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.